A Room with a View

Here is the view from our balcony at The Water's Edge resort in Wildwood Crest, NJ.  When we were here a few years ago, we learned that this beach is rare in that it grows every year, rather than being eroded.  Apparently, the water used to come up just past those dunes in the foreground, but as you can see, now it is quite a trek out there to the real water's edge.

From our balcony, you can also see the pool and sun deck.  The balcony faces east and it's a great place to start the morning, enjoying the early sun and the view.

 Below is the view to the south where you can see the motel next door.  It is one of the kitchy ones with the plastic palm trees.  Mark & I have really been enjoying the ultra-hip retro architecture and decor on some of the motels from the late 50s and early 60s, known as the "doo-wop" style.  I'll post some more cool photos of those on another post.

Another great thing about this motel's location (besides proximity to the beach) is the sidewalk/promenade that runs right into the famous Wildwood Boardwalk only a short distance away.  In the mornings, lots of people are out jogging or biking, some in these rented surreys that can seat up to six people.  We brought along three bicycles and have managed to get a few rides in here and there.

But mostly, we've been spending time at the beach!  The water is very warm and the waves have been exciting, but not too rough.  We have three boogie boards with us, so the girls can all ride the waves together, and if one of them is out of the water, Mark & I get to have a go.  When we've had enough sun and salt water, we head back to the pool to rinse off, then up to the room for a snack and a nap.  Then it's out to the boardwalk or a restaurant for dinner.  Hard to believe we'll be heading back home tomorrow!  

One other tid-bit for today: Remember the Sketchbook Project I took part in in 2010-11?  One of the guys who runs it contacted me back in June and asked me to put together a tutorial for their blog to explain  how I re-bound my sketchbook using fabric pages.  They just posted it for today's "Tip-Jar Thursday" and you can see it by clicking here.  I didn't have enough photos from my original sketchbook for the tutorial so I had to make a mock-up using materials on hand.  Even, so I think it came out pretty good, considering this is my first real web tutorial.  Take a peek and let me know what you think!